Google Cloud Platform Services: Technical Support Services Guidelines

The following technical support services guidelines ("Guidelines") apply to agreements where
Google provides Google Cloud Platform (as described at
https://cloud.google.com/terms/services)
and related technical support to Customer (as amended from time to time, the "Agreement").
Capitalized terms used but not defined in these Guidelines have the meanings given to them
in the Agreement.

Please note that Technical Support Services Guidelines Version 1.2 will apply to Customer’s use of Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Support; Technical Support Services Guidelines Version 2.0 will solely govern Customer’s use of either Role-Based Support or Enterprise Support, as described below. Both versions are provided below. By accepting these terms, you agree to both versions.

Regardless of any other statement in the Agreement or these Guidelines, Google does not offer TSS to Customer for any Firebase features, including those listed in the Google Cloud Platform Services Summary. Google will instead provide Customer with Firebase Support for any Firebase features.

Technical Support Services Guidelines v1.2

Technical Support Services Guidelines v1.2

1.1 Customer Efforts to Fix Errors . Prior to making a request to Google, Customer will use reasonable efforts to fix any error, bug, malfunction or network connectivity defect without escalation to Google. Thereafter, a Customer Contact may submit a written request for technical support through the Google for Work Support Center.

1.2 Characterization of Requests . Customer designates priority upon submission of Requests. Upon receiving a request, Google will determine whether the request is a "Service Unusable," "Standard Request" or a "Feature Request." Any such determination made by Google is final and binding on Customer. Google reserves the right to change Customer’s priority designation if Google believes that Customer’s designation is incorrect and will inform Customer of any such change in its response to the support Request. Customer may appeal any such reclassification to Google's Support management for review through any available support channel.

1.3 Procedures for Acknowledgement and Resolution of Requests . When making a Request, Customer will provide all requested diagnostic information and assist Google Support Personnel as may be required to resolve a Request.

1.4 Request Acknowledgement . Google may respond to a Request by acknowledging receipt of the Request. Customer acknowledges and understands that Google may be unable to provide answers to, or resolve all, Requests.

1.5 Feature Requests . If Google deems a Request to be a Feature Request, Google will log such Request for consideration to add to a future update or release of the Services and will consider the matter closed. Google is under no obligation to respond to or resolve any Feature Request or to include any such Feature Request in any future update or release.

1.6 Building Applications . For clarity, Google will not have any obligation to write or build any Applications or write code to facilitate Applications.

1.7 Alpha and Beta . Although Google has no obligation to provide TSS for Alpha or Beta versions, features, or functionality of the Services, we will consider Requests at these development stages on a case-by-case basis.

2. Accessing Support

2.1 Designated Support Contacts . Customer will provide first-level support to Customer End Users. Google will provide second-level support to Customer only. If Customer wishes to change its Designated Contacts, it will notify Google via the Google for Work Support Center at least 5 Business Days prior to the change. If on the date these updated Guidelines were first posted Customer has more Designated Contacts than are set forth under the applicable Support level under Section 4 below, the current Contacts will continue to be allowed until the expiration of the current license term for the applicable Services under the Agreement.

2.2 Support Hours and Target Initial Response Times . Google will process Requests during the Hours of Operation, unless otherwise indicated in these Guidelines. Any Requests received outside of the Hours of Operation will be logged and processed during the next Business Day. Target initial response times are based on the subscribed support level.

3. General Provisions

3.1 Maintenance . To ensure optimal performance of the Services, Google performs periodic Maintenance. In most cases, Maintenance will have limited or no negative impact on the availability and functionality of the Services. If Google expects planned Maintenance to negatively affect the availability or functionality of the Services, Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide at least 7 days advance notice of the Maintenance. In addition, Google may perform emergency unscheduled Maintenance at any time. If Google expects such emergency unscheduled Maintenance to negatively affect the availability or functionality of the Services, Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of such Maintenance. Maintenance notices noted above will be provided via the Google for Work Support Center.

3.2 Language Support Generally . The parties agree that all support provided by Google pursuant to these Guidelines will be provided in the English language except as set forth in Section 3.3 below.

3.3 Expanded Language Support for Gold and Higher . Customers with the Gold support level or higher may make Requests in the Japanese language during Business Hours in Japan. Any Requests received in the Japanese language outside of the Business Hours in Japan will be logged and processed during the next Business Day during Business Hours in Japan, unless Customer agrees to communicate in English. Although initial phone calls will be answered in the English language, if a Gold support level (or higher) Customer requests to speak to a Japanese speaking agent during Business Hours in Japan, the Customer will be transferred to a Japanese speaking agent.

4. Support Levels

4.1 Bronze. The Bronze support level includes the following, and Google will provide it to all customers under the Agreement: automatic Services upgrades and maintenance updates, support for billing inquiries, access to documentation, white papers, online best practices guides, and community forums.

4.2 Silver. The Silver support level includes all the items in the Bronze level plus the following: support requests accepted via the Google for Work Support Center for questions about Services functionality, best practice guidance on how to architect with the Services, and Services errors reports, as well as up to 2 Designated Contacts. P1 Priority support Requests are responded to with a target initial response time of 4 hours and are responded to during Hours of Operation. P2, P3 & P4 Priority support Requests are responded to with an initial target response time of 8 hours and are responded to during the Hours of Operation.

4.3 Gold. The Gold support level includes all the items in the Silver level plus the following: 24x7 phone support, consultation on application development, and specific guidance on how to architect with the Services for Customer's proposed use case, as well as up to 5 Designated Contacts. P1 Priority support Requests are responded to with a target initial response time of 1 hour and are responded to 24 x 7. P2 Priority support Requests are responded to with an initial target response time of 4 hours and are responded to during the Hours of Operation. P3 & P4 Priority support Requests are responded to with an initial target response time of 8 hours and are responded to during the Hours of Operation.

4.4 Platinum .The Platinum support level includes all the items in the Gold level plus the following: Unlimited Designated Contacts. P1 Priority support Requests are responded to with a target initial response time of fifteen minutes and are responded to 24 x 7. P2 Priority support Requests are responded to with a target initial response time of 4 hours and are responded to 24 x 7. P3 & P4 Priority support Requests are responded to with an initial target response time of 8 hours and are responded to during the Hours of Operation. The Platinum support level includes access to Google’s technical account management team described in Section 4.5 below.

4.5 Technical Account Management (additional fees may apply).Customer will receive access to Google’s technical account management team to: (a) assist with Customer in developing a cloud strategy with respect to the Services, (b) provide best practice advice regarding implementation and use of the Services, and (c) manage technical support escalations and coordinate with Google subject matter experts to address technical inquiries related to the Services.

4.6 Professional Services.Depending upon the type, scope and/or duration of any professional services (e.g., implementation, configuration, data migration, or other forms of technical assistance) to be rendered, additional terms and conditions may apply.

5. Definitions

5.1 "Business Day" means any day during the Hours of Operation.

5.2 "Business Hours in Japan" means 09:00 to 17:00 on Monday to Friday Japan Standard Time except for regional holidays documented in the Google for Work Support Center.

5.3 "Designated Contacts" means administrators or technical employees designated by Customer who are allowed to contact Google for technical support.

5.4 "Feature Request" means a Request by a Contact to incorporate a new feature or enhance an existing feature of the Services that is currently not available as part of the existing Services.

5.7 "Hours of Operation" means 17:00 on Sunday to 17:00 on Friday Pacific Time Zone, except for holidays in local time for each region documented in the Google for Work Support Center.

5.8 "Maintenance" means maintenance work that is performed on hardware or software delivering the Services.

5.9 "Request" means a request from a designated Contact to Google Support Personnel for technical support to resolve a question or problem report regarding the Services.

5.10 "Services" are defined in the Agreement.

5.11 "Service Unusable" is any situation where Customer, adhering to published technical guidelines for and documented correct usage of the Services, is unable to access or use the Services for the majority of its Customer End Users for a period of time greater than fifteen (15) minutes.

5.12 "Standard Request" means a Request made by Customer to Google that is not a Service Unusable Request or Feature Request.

5.13 "Priority" means the level of impact a Request is having on Customer’s operations and is used to establish initial target response times.

5.14 "P1" means Critical Impact – Service Unusable in Production

5.15 "P2" means High Impact – Service Use Severely Impaired

5.16 "P3" means Medium Impact – Service Use Partially Impaired

5.17 "P4" means Low Impact – Service Fully Usable

Technical Support Services Guidelines v2.0

Technical Support Services Guidelines v2.0

1.1 Setting Designated Contacts. Customer-designated support admins may add Designated Contacts to its Account by accessing the “Support Menu” in the Admin Console. At such time, Customer’s support admin must designate the Support Role for each of its Designated Contacts. When enrolled in Role-Based Support, Customer will pay the Fees for each of its Designated Contact’s Support Roles in accordance with the pricing at https://cloud.google.com/support/role-based.

1.2 Upgrading/Downgrading Support Roles in Role-Based Support. All Support Roles require a minimum 30-day Fee commitment.

a. Upgrades. Customer may designate or upgrade a Support Role for a Designated Contact at any time. When Customer designates or upgrades any Support Role for a Designated Contact, any applicable Fees will be pro-rated in that month, and will automatically renew at the beginning of the following month. Customer may upgrade a Support Role for a Designated Contact at any time. Any applicable Fees for such upgraded Support Role will be calculated at the upgraded rate beginning on the day that the upgrade is processed.

b. Downgrades. Customer may downgrade or remove a Support Role for a Designated Contact at any time. Such downgrade or removal will take effect, and any applicable Fees for such downgraded or removed Support Role will be calculated at the downgraded amount, from the later of (i) the date of such downgrade or removal, and (ii) 30 days after the Support Role for the Designated Contact was last changed, and the applicable Fees will automatically renew at the beginning of the month following such downgrade or removal.

1.3 Customer Efforts to Fix Errors; Support Request Submission. Before making a Request to Google, Customer will use reasonable efforts to fix any error, bug, malfunction, or network connectivity defect without escalation to Google. Following such attempts, a Designated Contact may submit a Request through the Admin Console

1.4 Priority Designations. Customer designates P1 - P4 Priority on submission of Requests. Google will review Customer’s Priority designation and may change designations that Google believes are incorrect. Google will inform Customer of such change in its response to the support Request. Google’s designation is final and binding on Customer.

1.5 Procedures for Acknowledgement and Resolution of Requests. When making a Request, Customer will provide all requested diagnostic information and assist Google Support Personnel as may be required to resolve a Request.

1.6 Request Acknowledgement. Google may respond to a Request by acknowledging receipt of the Request. Customer acknowledges and understands that Google may be unable to provide answers to, or resolve all, Requests.

1.7 Feature Requests. If Google deems a Request to be a Feature Request, Google will log the Request for consideration to add to a future update or release of the Services and will consider the matter closed. Google has no obligation to respond to or resolve any Feature Request or to include any Feature Request in any future update or release.

1.8 Building Applications. Google has no obligation to write or build any Applications or write code to facilitate Applications.

1.9 Early Access, Alpha, and Beta. Although Google has no obligation to provide TSS for Early Access, Alpha or Beta versions, features, or functionality of the Services, Google will consider Requests at these development stages on a case-by-case basis.

2. Accessing Support

2.1 Designated Contacts. Customer will provide first-level support to Customer End Users; Google will not provide support to Customer End Users. Google will provide second-level support to Customer only through Customer’s Designated Contacts and Technical Account Manager (if applicable). If Customer wishes to change its Designated Contacts, it may do so using the “Support Menu” in the Admin Console.

2.2 Support Hours and Target Initial Response Times. Google will process Requests during the Hours of Operation, unless otherwise indicated in these Guidelines. Any Requests received outside the Hours of Operation will be logged and processed during the next Business Day. Target initial response times are based on the Designated Contact’s Support Role, and whether Customer is enrolled in Enterprise Support, as described in Sections 4 (Support Roles) and 5.1 (Enterprise Support; Offering).

3. General Provisions

3.1 Maintenance. To ensure optimal performance of the Services, Google performs periodic Maintenance. In most cases, Maintenance will have limited or no negative impact on the availability and functionality of the Services. If Google expects planned Maintenance to negatively affect the availability or functionality of the Services, Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide at least 7 days’ advance notice of the Maintenance. In addition, Google may perform emergency unscheduled Maintenance at any time. If Google expects emergency unscheduled Maintenance to negatively affect the availability or functionality of the Services, Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of such Maintenance. Google may provide any notice to Customer under this Section: (a) by sending an email to the Notification Email Address, or (b) through the Admin Console. In this Section 3.1, "Notification Email Address" has the meaning given in the Agreement or, if no such meaning is given, means the email address(es) designated by Customer in the Admin Console, or in the Order Form or Ordering Document (as applicable), to receive certain notifications from Google.

3.2 Language Support Generally. Google will provide all support under these Guidelines in the English language except as described in Section 3.3 (Expanded Japanese Language Support for Production Support Role and Enterprise Support).

3.3 Expanded Japanese Language Support for Production Support Role and Enterprise Support. Designated Contacts with the Production Support Role and Enterprise Support Customers may make Requests in the Japanese language. Any Japanese language Requests received outside the Business Hours in Japan will be logged and processed during the next Business Day during Business Hours in Japan, unless Customer agrees to communicate in English. Although initial phone calls will be answered in the English language, if a Designated Contact with the Production Support Role or Enterprise Support Customer requests to speak to a Japanese-speaking agent during Business Hours in Japan, the Customer will be transferred to a Japanese speaking agent.

4. Support Roles

Google will provide Customer with technical support through its Designated Contacts, according to their designated Support Role as follows:

4.1 Basic. The Basic Support Role includes the following: automatic Services upgrades and Maintenance updates, support for billing inquiries and access to documentation, white papers, online best practices guides, and community forums.

4.2 Development. The Development Support Role includes all the items in the Basic Support Role plus the following:

(a) Requests are accepted through the Admin Console for questions about Services functionality, best practices guidance on how to architect with the Services, and Services errors reports.

(b) Google will respond to P2 Requests with a target initial response time of 4 hours during Hours of Operation (the Development Support Role cannot submit P1 Requests).

(c) Google will respond to P3 and P4 Requests with an initial target response time of 8 hours during the Hours of Operation.

4.3 Production. The Production Support Role includes all the items in the Development Support Role plus the following:

(a) 24 x 7 phone support and limited guidance on how to architect with the Services for Customer's proposed use case.

(b) Google will respond to P1 Priority support Requests with a target initial response time of 1 hour 24 x 7.

(c) Google will respond to P2 Requests with an initial target response time of 4 hours during the Hours of Operation.

(d) Google will respond to P3 and P4 support Requests with an initial target response time of 8 hours during the Hours of Operation.

5. Enterprise Support.

5.1 Offering.

(a) The Enterprise Support offering includes unlimited Designated Contacts, each with Customer’s chosen Support Role. The “Business Critical” level of support is only available to Customers who have enrolled in Enterprise Support.

(c) If enrolled in the Enterprise Support program, Customer may assign the “Business Critical” role to each of its unlimited Designated Contacts. For Designated Contacts with the “Business Critical” role:

(1) Google will respond to P1 Requests with a target initial response time of fifteen minutes 24 x 7;

(2) Google will respond to P2 Requests with a target initial response time of 4 hours 24 x 7;

(3) Google will respond to P3 and P4 Requests with an initial target response time of 8 hours during the Hours of Operation.

(d) The Enterprise Support offering includes support from Google’s technical account management team (“Technical Account Management”), as described in Section 5.2 (Enrollment and Unenrollment).

5.2 Enrollment and Unenrollment. The Enterprise Support program requires a minimum 1 year Fee commitment. When Customer enrolls in Enterprise Support, any applicable Fees will be pro-rated in that month and then continue to apply during each month in the 1-year commitment period. Customer may unenroll from the Enterprise Support program at any time by notifying Google in writing and any such unenrollment will take effect, and applicable Fees for Customer’s downgraded Support Role(s) will be calculated at the downgraded amount, from the later of (i) the date of such unenrollment, and (ii) the business day following the 1-year anniversary of Customer’s enrollment in Enterprise Support.

5.3 Technical Account Management. As part of the Enterprise Support offering, Customer will receive access to a dedicated Technical Account Manager for 1 day per work week. Additional access to Technical Account Management may be purchased, subject to additional fees and terms. Please contact your account team for pricing details. Technical Account Management includes: (a) assistance in developing a cloud strategy with respect to the Services, (b) best practices guidance on implementing and using the Services, and (c) management of technical support escalations and coordination with Google subject matter experts to address technical inquiries related to the Services.

6. Professional Services. Depending on the type, scope, and duration of any professional services requested (e.g., implementation, configuration, data migration, or other forms of technical assistance), additional fees and terms may apply.

7.8 "Hours of Operation" means 17:00 on Sunday to 17:00 on Friday Pacific Time Zone, except for holidays in local time for each region documented in the Admin Console.

7.9 "Maintenance" means maintenance work that is performed on hardware or software delivering the Services.

7.10 “P1" means Critical Impact – Service Unusable in Production.

7.11 "P2" means High Impact – Service Use Severely Impaired.

7.12 "P3" means Medium Impact – Service Use Partially Impaired.

7.13 "P4" means Low Impact – Service Fully Usable.

7.14 "Priority" means the level of impact a Request is having on Customer’s operations and is used to establish initial target response times. Priority is established on a scale of P1 through P4.

7.15 "Request" means a request from a Designated Contact to Google Support Personnel for technical support to resolve a question or problem report regarding the Services.

7.16 “Role-Based Support” means Google’s technical support offering enabling Customer to choose the number of Designated Contacts who are allowed to contact Google for technical support and the type of Support Role that best corresponds to each contact, as described in these Guidelines.

7.17 “Support Role” means the level of support available to a Designated Contact under Role-Based Support, as defined by one of three tiers (Basic, Development, Production) and as designated by Customer in accordance with Section 1 (Obtaining Support).